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by protejerinnocencia
Summary: Set directly after Ep 1.11. Charlie and Dani are pulled into a case that will test their bond as partners as well their own wills. Can the detectives find the real perp before time runs out?
1. Turf War

Turf War

The car was silent as it pulled up to a stop light. Charlie's gaze was focused on the license plate of the car ahead of them; AL4DA$$. Dani sat in the passenger seat, toying with the hem of her sleeve. She and Charlie hadn't talked much since they had collared Hollis. She had a lot of questions for him but he seemed preoccupied and distracted, very unlike Charlie. As the car sat in traffic, the dispatch radio crackled to life.

"All available units please respond to a 187," the dispatcher said. Dani picked up the radio and responded.

"This is Detective Dani Reese. Request location of 187," she said. The dispatcher relayed the address and Dani ended the conversation. The light changed and she expected Charlie to start moving.

"Crews," she said, snapping her fingers in front of his eyes.

"Huh?" he muttered, looking at her.

"Drive. We have a call," she answered, giving him directions.

"What's with you lately? You've been zoning out constantly," she said as they neared the scene.

"I'm fine. Just thinking," Charlie answered. He hadn't told her about Rachel yet.

"Thinking about what?" she probed.

"The license plate in front of us," he replied. He liked the new custom plates. They entertained him sitting in traffic. Dani tried to remember what it had said.

"Was there something special about it?" she sighed.

"All for the money," he said.

"What?" she asked.

"It spelled out 'all for the money'," he explained. Dani just shook her head. Even though she was more used to his bizarre Zen-like ramblings, she still didn't always understand.

"As long as you're not going crazy on me," she muttered as the car pulled up across the street from the ambulance. Its lights flashed brightly in the daylight as the two detectives climbed out of their car and crossed the street.

"What do we have?" Reese asked as they approached the coroner, bent over a sheet-covered body.

"Passerby saw the guy and called it in. He was DOA," the coroner answered. Dani and Charlie bent down to examine the body. His face was bloody and bloated. His eyes where swollen partially shut.

"Any idea what the perp used to bash this guy's face in?" Dani asked.

"My guess, maybe a pipe or some other slender metal object," he answered. Charlie had been examining the rest of the scene.

"How about a tire iron?" he asked, gingerly picking up one lying near the body.

"Or a tire iron," the coroner muttered.

"Is that blood?" Dani asked, pointing to end of the bar that Charlie was holding. Charlie looked at it and nodded.

"Looks like we've got our murder weapon," Dani said.

"Not exactly, Detective," the coroner corrected her.

"What was cause of death?" Charlie asked.

"Multiple stab wounds to the chest and abdomen," the coroner answered, pulling the sheet further down the body.

"Did you get any ID off of him?" Dani questioned. The coroner shook his head.

"Wallet was still on him but there was no license," he answered. Just as Dani stood up, a squad car pulled up and two other detectives stepped out. Charlie gave them his trademark smile.

"Crews, Reese. What are you doing here?" a female detective asked.

"Investigating a homicide. The better question is what are you doing here, Rhonda," Dani answered. The other detective's partner had walked behind Charlie and was examining the body.

"Well we'll be taking the case off your hands," he said.

"Since when do sex crimes get involved in routine homicides?" Dani asked.

"When the deceased is the prime suspect in a child abduction and kiddy porn ring case," the female detective answered.


	2. Back to the Beginning

Back to the Beginning

Dani and Charlie looked at each other and then back at the other two detectives. How did they know who the victim was without any ID? Charlie gave the two detectives another smile and spoke.

"So…who is our dead guy?" he asked, trying to be polite.

"His name is Frances Vaughn," Rhonda answered. Her partner opened up the decedent wallet to search it.

"There's no ID. Coroner already looked," Dani informed him.

"I wasn't looking for his ID," the other detective answered.

"Is he in there, Dave?" Rhonda asked and Dave shook his head.

"Looking for someone else in a dead man's wallet?" Charlie asked. Dani cringed a little at Charlie's bizarre question.

"Look, why don't you come back to homicide and explain this to us," Dani suggested just as the coroner began zipping up the body bag.

"I'll send over the results of the autopsy as soon as it's complete," he said.

"Check finger print records," Dani said.

"Of course," he stated and climbed into the ambulance.

"It's going to confirm he is Frances Vaughn," Dave said gruffly.

Dani didn't say anything. Instead the two sets of cops went their separate ways. Dani grabbed the keys from Charlie and got in the driver side.

"Should you be driving right now?" Charlie asked.

"Why shouldn't I?" she snapped back.

"Well, Reese. You seem a little…angry. And angry people aren't always the best people behind the wheel," Charlie said.

"If that's some lame attempt at an alcoholic metaphor I'm going to hit you," Dani said.

"No…no metaphor," Charlie said. With that, Dani sped off down the street. Rhonda and Dave followed in the general direction. Rhonda ran a hand through her curly locks and sighed.

"Look…maybe it's a good thing that we are letting them know what's going on. The sooner we find the kid, the sooner we can get him home," Dave suggested.

"This is our case, Dave. I thought we agreed to keep it that," Rhonda grumbled.

"All I'm saying is more manpower won't hurt," Dave replied and their car fell silent. Both cars arrived at the precinct around the same time. Dani and Charlie walked up to the front doors and inside. Rhonda and Dave followed at a distance. Inter-division cooperation was not a real strong point with the LAPD. Then again, were most cops in different divisions thrilled to work with each other?

As they entered the squad room, Rhonda and Dave felt all eyes on them. They were the odd kids out and they knew it. They caught Charlie's hand waving them towards and open door. All four detectives sat down across from Lieutenant Davis.

"One of you please explain why I'm looking at two sex crimes cops in my precinct," Karen said.

"Apparently our dead body is a suspect in their case," Dani answered.

"Have them fill you in on the victim's history and move on," Karen said.

"Maybe…it would be easier if we worked together," Charlie suggested. Rhonda and Dani cringed at his suggestion.

"No…I think we can work two separate investigations," Rhonda said but Karen shook her head.

"Fine. Work it together. But you report to me first," she said and dismissed them. Both Dani and Rhonda pulled their partners aside.

"What are you doing?" Dani hissed.

"They're hiding something. I want to know what," Charlie answered with a shrug and sat down at his desk. Rhonda asked much the same question of her partner.

"Like I said…more manpower," Dave whispered.

"So…fill us in on our friend Frances," Dani said, pulling out a notepad and pen. Rhonda and Dave hared a look before pulling up chairs.

"He's had a couple of solicitation charges…mostly soliciting minors. Collared him on possession of child porn on his computer. He was recently paroled," Dave answered.

"Ok…well have you talked to his PO? Has he missed any appointments?" Dani pressed.

"If I were running a kid porn ring…I think I'd keep appointments with my parole officer," Charlie interjected.

"Do you have one of those, Crews?" Rhonda asked.

"No…but I hear they're nice people," Charlie replied coolly.

"So what made you pin Frances as your lead suspect?" Dani asked.

"Past behavior," Dave answered.

"You said something at the scene about a child abduction?" Charlie interrupted again. Dave and Rhonda shared a nervous glance and neither said a word.

"Look…if we're going to work this together, you've got to be straight with us. Is there a child missing?" Dani said firmly. She hated being yanked around like this.

"A little boy named Noah Larson. He's six years old. Went missing from a playground four days ago," Rhonda said through pursed lips.

"A couple witnesses put a man in his mid to late thirties on the playground around the time Noah went missing," Dave added after a minute of silence.

"I don't know. Soliciting minors to kidnapping seems a bit of a stretch," Charlie admitted.

"We were sure he was our guy," Dave grumbled.

"Did you search his house?" Charlie asked.

"We were working on a warrant," Rhonda said hastily.

"Well you've called the Feds in right?" Dani probed.

"He hasn't left the state," Rhonda replied. There was no way she was going to let Dani take this investigation away from her. This was her case and she was going to solve it without help from the Feds.

"That doesn't matter. Any kidnapping case is automatically Federal jurisdiction. Or did you sleep through that part of procedures at the Academy," Dani spat.

"I know all about jurisdiction, Reese. I don't need you to tell me how to do my job," Rhonda spat back.

"Well apparently someone has to because obviously your partner here can't," Dani groaned and picked up the phone.

"What are you doing?" Rhonda rasped.

"Doing what you should have done at the start of this investigation. Calling the Feds," Dani said. Charlie just sat at his desk and watched the interaction. He hadn't dealt with a kidnapping in a long time. This was going to be interesting.


	3. Chain Links

Chain Links

Dani hung up the phone and let out a breath. This case had just gotten a lot more complicated. She wasn't sure which infuriated her more; the fact that a child was missing and had been exploited or that the other detectives hadn't followed proper procedure. LAPD didn't need any major negative press right now. Crews watched his partner's facial expressions change from annoyance to anger. Rhonda sat staring grumpily at Dani's desk.

"How soon were you supposed to have that warrant?" Dani asked.

"The judge said he'd have it ready by two," Dave replied. Charlie checked his watch and stood up.

"Let's go," he said.

"Hold on, Crews. We're not going anywhere until the Feds show up," Dani reminded him.

"I'm sure they won't mind, Reese. Besides, the more information we have to give them, the sooner we solve the case," Charlie argued back. Dani let out a breath but grabbed her jacket. The other three detectives followed suit and they headed down to the parking lot. All four crammed into Charlie's car. He maneuvered the car through LA midday traffic and arrived at the court house. Rhonda climbed out and went in to grab the warrant from the judge.

"What's the scope?" Dani asked as the other detective climbed in.

"The whole apartment, his computer, phone records," Rhonda answered. Just then Reese's cell began to ring. She picked it up.

"Reese," she said.

"Yes Sir, we have the warrant. We're on our way there now," she continued.

"No we won't do anything until you and your people arrive," she assured the caller and hung up.

"We wait for the Feds to show before we go in," she said. Charlie put the car in drive and headed back onto the street. The car was silent as they made the journey to Vaughn's apartment. They wouldn't have to wait long before executing the warrant. Two large black SUVs pulled up just as they did.

"Detective Reese?" one of the men asked and Dani nodded.

"Let's get this sick bastard," he said. Dani couldn't help but smile and handed him the search warrant. With that they headed into the building and up to the third floor.

"So do we think he hid the boy?" one of the Feds asked.

"He wouldn't have kept him here," Dave said.

"Why not?" the Fed asked.

"Because it's too high risk. He would have kept him somewhere secluded, out of the way that no one would see," the detective continued.

"Still…he may have left a clue as to where the boy might be," Charlie interjected. They moved into the apartment and split up. Charlie looked around the bedroom and began picking through Frances' closet. He had some shabby looking dress shirts and some wrinkled slacks. As he moved towards the night stand, he saw a leather-bound book. Donning gloves, he picked it up and flipped it open. Today's date was circled with red pen. It had a time and address listed.

"Hey Reese," he called. Dani walked into the room and peered over her partner's shoulder.

"That's a few blocks from where we found him," she commented, noting the address.

"And about half an hour before we got the call," Charlie said.

"So whoever he was going to see probably attacked him," Dani concluded.

"Sounds like our victim might be more of a victim than a perp," Charlie mused. The pair wandered into the sitting area to find Rhonda sifting through mail correspondence.

"Hey, can we get a computer tech down here to take a look at his computer?" Dave asked one of the Federal agents. He nodded and sat down.

"How convenient," the detective muttered.

"We found this in his room," Charlie said, handing it to a man with an evidence bag.

"Whoever he went to meet today is our attacker," Dani added.

"Well I've got some bills here for some pretty false sounding companies. I'll run them against known false billing agencies for kiddie porn sites," Rhonda said.

"This guy is smart. He's got two passwords to log on to the system," the computer tech grumbled.

Charlie walked behind the agent and looked at the system. The password box had spaces for seven characters. His brow knit together as he tried to think of possible passwords Frances could have used.

"Can I try?" Charlie asked. The tech nodded and let Charlie sit down. Dani had to turn away to keep from laughing. Certainly Charlie had gotten better with technology since his release from Pelican Bay, but he wasn't the most computer savvy in the department. Charlie looked around the desk and picked up the mouse pad and through some files. Next he moved through the drawers until he found something in the very back of the drawer to his left. He looked at it for a minute before looking back at the screen. He began to type n-o-v-2-0-0-5 into the password box. He hit enter and the screen cleared, bringing him to second screen. He had seven more characters. Charlie checked the key he'd found and typed in j-u-l-2-0-0-6. He hit enter a second time and the desktop came up.

"What do you think the passwords meant?" Dave asked.

"November 2005, the date he went to prison. July 2006, the date he got out," Charlie answered with a faraway look in his eyes. He could understand Frances' tie to these dates. Charlie stood to let the tech begin combing through the computer.

"I'll see what I can find here," the tech said and began clicking through the files on the computer.

"Looks like we've got some kid porn on here labeled 'auction 2007'," he said and opened up Vaughn's email. It loaded automatically, displaying several SPAM messages as well as some other solicitations that he assumed were child porn related.

"Anything in his email?" Dani demanded. The tech began opening up subfolders within the inbox and let out a guttural sound.

"You're going to want to see this," he said. All four detectives crammed behind the desk to look at the file. It was also labeled 'auction 2007'. He had the window set to display the text of the message. It read "See you Thursday at ten thirty sharp. Don't forget the money."

"I don't think this guy kidnapped Noah," Dani breathed.

"I think he was going to buy him," Charlie said, finishing Dani's thought.


	4. Gone Awry

Gone Awry

Dani and Charlie just looked at each other in shock. What the hell was going on with this case? It seemed that every step they took sent them spiraling in a completely different direction. Dani let out another breath as the tech went in search of a memory stick to dump the files from the machine.

"I think you owe us an apology," Rhonda said. Dani raised a brow.

"Apology for what?" she asked.

"For thinking we didn't have any merit in following Vaughn," Rhonda answered.

"We don't owe you an apology for anything. For all we know, whoever killed Vaughn went and killed Noah too. You wasted time and this little boy's life is hanging in the balance," Dani shot angrily. She snatched the memory stick from the agent's hand and stormed off. Charlie just gave Rhonda and Dave a smile before following her. He found Reese leaning against the hood of the car.

"You ok?" he asked.

"She and I were at the Academy together. She always got on my nerves," Dani admitted.

"She seems a little headstrong," Charlie noted.

"Let's get this back to the station and see what we can make of it. If we're lucky, it will lead us right to our perp," Dani sighed. Without waiting ro Rhonda and Cave, the two detectives headed back to the station. Charlie stared out the window as Dani pulled into the parking lot. He still hadn't told her about her father's involvement with the Bank of LA shootout or in his own case. He knew she needed to hear about it but right now…it wasn't the right time.

"Crews," Dani said, snapping him from his daydreaming.

"How about I look through the files and you fill Davis in," Charlie offered.

"No, I can handle this," Dani replied and sat down at her desk. Charlie just nodded and headed into Karen's office.

"What do you have for me?" she asked.

"Well our dead guy wasn't the kidnapper but he was trying to buy the little boy," Charlie answered.

"Dani is looking through some emails now to see fi we can figure out who he was going to buy Noah from," he added.

"Feds have been called in?" Karen asked. Charlie nodded.

"Good. Good work," she said. Charlie excused himself and sat down at his desk just as Rhonda and Dave approached them. The federal agents that had met them at the apartment followed behind.

"Thanks for leaving us at the scene," Rhonda muttered.

"Just trying to move the case along," Dani answered as she hit the down arrow on her keyboard. She was on the second to last email between Vaughn and someone named BenD. Most of the correspondence was brief and referenced links to a message board to a site called Playground Productions, Inc. She hadn't accessed the site yet.

"Find anything interesting?" one of the agents asked.

"This is so sick. They make it sound like they're exchanging furniture. Asking about specifications," Dani said in disgust.

"Any indication who the seller could be?" Charlie questioned.

"Just have his email address. We can try and get his IP address…see if the company can give us a name," Dani answered, scribbling down the address on a piece of paper. She handed it over to one of the agents who promptly disappeared. Dani clicked on a link in the earliest message. A website came up with an error message informing she didn't have access to link in question.

"This guy is smart. You can't see the site unless you have an account," Dani said. Rhonda had been examining the web address and glanced down at her notes.

"Looks like you have to pay to join," she commented. Dani looked up.

"Frances has several subscription bills to this site," she explained.

"Well what do we do?" Dani asked.

"Wait and see what the Feds turn up," Dave suggested.

"Or…we could join the site…see if we can talk this BenD person directly," Charlie said.

"Are you nuts?" Dave shot.

"Why? Don't cops do that all the time?" Charlie asked.

"You hear that from your prison buddies?" Dave quipped back.

"Hey…back off," Dani snapped/

"In case you've forgotten, Detective. Charlie was found innocent," she added sharply.

"You don't really talk to many people in solitary, Dave," Charlie interjected.

"I say we go with Charlie's idea. We may be able to catch him faster, trick him into meeting us," Dani said.

"So you're willing to use department money to support a child pornography ring?" Rhonda asked.

"We're saving a child's life," Dani answered and click the link to the register page. She went through and filled out all the information. Just as Dani was about to fish out a credit card, Karen walked out of her office.

"Lieutenant," Dani called. Karen veered from her path and over to Dani's desk.

"We're trying to catch this son-of-a-bitch at his own game. But it's a paid subscription," Dani began to explain.

"Can you send in money orders?" Karen asked. Dani scanned the page.

"Looks like it," she answered.

"Do it that way," she said and walked away.

"I hope you know what you're doing," Rhonda said.

'If you knew how to do your job correctly, I wouldn't have to do this," Dani grumbled, hitting the 'submit' button. She was taken to a log in screen and entered the username and password she'd chosen.

"Let's find this bastard," she sighed.

The four detectives spent the next half hour browsing the site and the message board. They were able to pinpoint the threads that Vaughn had accessed. Reading the topics in full helped to elaborate on Vaughn and BenD's communications. It appeared that BenD had what he called 'a new product' he was auctioning off.

"Look…a new post was made this afternoon," Dave commented. Dani scrolled down the page.

"BenD wrote, 'Sorry for such late notice but due to unforeseen consequences, I have opened the auction up for another twenty-four hours. Please send your bids to my account'," Dani read.

They were pulled from the screen when the agent returned, looking unsettled. All four detectives looked up from the computer screen.

"Any luck with the ISP?" Charlie asked.

"Yeah…the domain name and the email address was purchased a couple years ago by one Jack Mariner," he answered.

"Well he reopened the auction for twenty-four hours. We need to win the auction or else we're never going to see this kid again," Dani sighed.


	5. Number Is Up

Number Is Up

Charlie stared at sandwich on his plate and picked it up. They had all decided to stay at the station until the auction closed to make sure they won the bid. Dani was just staring at the computer screen, refreshing the browser every few minutes to update the latest bid. Dave and Rhonda had taken over desks nearby and were watching from those computers.

"Hey Reese," Charlie called. Dani jumped a little but lookd over at her partner.

"Hmm?" she replied.

"You should get something to eat. We can hold down the fort," he told her.

"No…I'm fine," she answered. Without a word Charlie pushed the other half of his sandwich across the desk to her. She rollled her eyes but picked it up and took a bite. Dani set the food down and hit the refresh button on the brwoser for the millionth time that hour and checked the bid. She was still the highest.

"How much longer?" Rhonda asked. Dani checked her watch.

"This closes at five pm so we have a while," Dani answered.

"Do you mind if we catch a couple hours of sleep?" Dave asked. Dani nodded and the two sex crimes detectives headed off in the direction of the crib. Dani and Charlie were now the only two in the squad room.

"You don't look so good," Charlie said after a few minutes had gone by.

"I told you I'm fine," Dani grumbled, taking another bite of sandwich.

"Covering up your feelings won't make them go away," Charlie replied.

"I don't need any Zen right now, Charlie," she snapped. She let out a breath and pulle dher hair down.

"I just…hate sex crimes and kid related crimes. It's why I didn't go into that division," she muttered. Charlie opened his mouth to retort but closed it when he saw she wasn't done talking.

"I know…I didn't exactly have the greatest start on the force but…I knew I couldn't handle the pedophiles," she continued. Charlie nodded, letting her vent.

"It's easier to deal with them when they are dead," Charlie offered.

"Yeah…and I mean who would want to have to deal with these pervs? I'll take your run of the mill serial killer any day," Dani sighed.

They fell silent for a while, except for the occasional click of the mouse. Before they knew it, midnight had come and gone and so had three in the morning. Dani's head rested on her arms when Dave and Rhonda walked back out. Dave bent downa nd shook Dani lighly on the shoulder. She sat bolt upright and looked around.

"What?" she asked.

"You two should catch some sleep. We'll take over," he said. Dani was about to protest when Charlie grabbed her by the elbow and steered her away from her desk. Dave took her place and refreshed the screen.

"If it make syou feel any better, we've still got the highest bid," he called as the other two detectives disappeared from view.

In the crib, Cani collapsed onto a bed and fell asleep. Charlie sat on the next bed, just watching her. He'd never seen her dedcitate this much energy and emtion to a case. He knew he should sleep for a while too but all he could think about was his own situation. He knew it was selfish of him to be thinking about his own problems when a six-year-old's life was at stake. With a nod he decided he would broach the subject with Reese once this case was over.

Both Dani and Charlie awoke to sounds of people talking out in the ahllway. They sat up and looked around. The sun was shining through the windows and it was at least partialy through the sky. It had to be at least late morning. Dani rushed down the stairs to find Dave and Rhonda talking with a couple of the agents on the case.

"What's the status?" she asked.

"We had to up the bid by twenty dollars around eight this morning," Dave answerd.

"But no one has bid higher than us since then," he added. Dani caught sight of the clock on her desk; 11:42. They had roughly five hours left on the auction.

"We're going to get this kid back," Rhonda said. She actually looked sympathetic to Dani.

"I know," she mumbled and headed for the kitchen area to grab some coffee. Charlie appeared and grabbed his jacket.

"Where are you going?" one of the agents asked.

"I have to stop at home," he answered and walked out. He arrvied at the house some fifteen minutes later. He entered through the front door to find Ted sitting in a chair reading the paper.

"Where've you been?" his friend asked.

"At the station. We're buying a six-year-old boy," Charlie answered. Ted immmediatelly put the paper down.

"Ok…say that again," Ted prompted.

"We're trying to buy a six-year-old boy. From a pedophile so we can catch him," Charlie explained.

"Oh…for a minute I thought you'd gone crazy," Ted muttered.

"Constance called last night," Ted called as Charlie headed upstairs to change clothes. On his way to his closet he dialed her number.

"Connie," he said as he tried to balance the phone between his ear and shoulder.

"You didn't pick up last night. I was getting worried," she said.

"I'm fine. Just working a case," Charlie answered.

"Charlie…I told you to let someone else handle this," she said.

"No…this is a different case. Little boy was kidnapped," Charlie replied.

"Why are you working a kidnapping?" Connie pressed.

"We were called the scene of a dead guy. Turns out he tried to buy the little boy from the pedophile that kidnapped him," Charlie said and headed back downstairs and out to his car.

"Well…good luck. And I'm serious, Charlie. You need to let someone else handle your case," she said before they hung up.

The remainder of the early afternoon was tense in the squad room. Dani checked the page twice as frequently and she hdn't touched her lunch. Her eyes were focused completely on the clock on her computer screen. She waited with baited breath until it hit 5:00. She refreshed the page one last time to see a message waiting for her from BenD. She clicked it and scanned the contents. He gave her a place to meet and a time. She checked her watch and her heart skipped a beat. It was going to be cutting it short. Silently she thanked God that they had the Feds with them for this.

"We've got an hour to get ready to meet this guy," she announced.


	6. Slight of Hand

Slight of Hand

The detectives looked around at each for a minute, trying to figure out what they needed to do. Dani looked over at the lead agent on the case.

"Can we come up with the money in an hour?" she asked.

"We can get most of it," he replied.

"Alright...well who is going to do the drop?" Rhonda asked. Dani bit her lip. She knew Rhonda wanted to land this case herself. But she couldn't let this creep get away with murder, even if the guy was a dirt bag.

"I think Dani should do it," Dave interjected. Rhonda stifled a sound that sounded like an expletive.

"Why?" Rhonda blurted.

"Well, she created the account. And she doesn't scream sex cop," Dave admitted.

"Thank you,' Dani said. Dave just shrugged. Dani knew Rhonda wouldn't be happy.

"Look…we'll collar him and interrogate him for our homicide and then you can take him and interrogate him all you want about the kid," Dani said. Rhonda let out a breath as she contemplated the offer.

"Fine. But we ask for the kid before we hand over the money," Rhonda answered.

"Of course," Dani replied. Neither had noticed the agent had disappeared until he'd returned with a large black bag full of money. As they were about to head out, Charlie pulled Dani aside.

"You sure you're ok with this?" he asked softly.

"I appreciate the concern, Crews, but right now we have a little boy that needs our help," Dani said but Charlie didn't let her go.

"I just don't want to see you get hurt," he told her. She tried to hide a smile but failed. Charlie caught the slip of emotion and pulled her into a quick hug.

Twenty minutes later a caravan was sitting a couple blocks up the street from the meeting point. Dani was strapped her bullet proof vest on and securing her gun on her belt. She hoped all went according to their plan. She would ask to see Noah before handing over the money. Hopefully she could get him out of the line of fire if the attempt turned south.

"You ready, Reese?" Dave asked.

"Let's do this," she said, tucking a stray piece of hair out of her line of vision. She checked her watch; 5:57. She picked up the bag of money and headed up the street. She reached the designated area and leaned against the fence. She watched each car that drove by. When she checked her watch again it read eight past six.

"Our boy is late," she said into the communication piece on her sleeve.

"Give him a few more minutes," one of the Federal agents told her. Dani took a deep breath as another car approached. This one slowed down and parked on the opposite side of the street. It looked to be an SUV with tinted back windows. She watched the driver side door open and a man with dark hair climb out. He shut the door and jogged across the street, coming to stand a couple inches from Dani. They sized each other up for a minute or two.

"Are you Just4Kix?" the man asked. Dani looked around before nodding her head.

"BenD?" she replied. He nodded his head in return, stepping closer.

"You have the money?" he pressed. She indicated the bag at her feet. He started to reach down for it but she stopped him.

"I want to see the product first. Make sure it's worth my while," she said sharply. He didn't seem to be too keen on the idea but when she blocked his way the second time he tried to reach for the money he relented. He led Dani across the street to his car. They ducked around the back side of the vehnicle and he opened the back door. Dani saw the little boy sitting in the back seat clutching a teddy bear to his chest.

"Satisfied?" the man asked. Dani tried not to smile too much.

"Very," she answered, beginning to reach behind her to grab her gun.

"I trust all the money is here," he said, not noticing her hands.

"You want to count it?" she offered, motioning for Noah to get out of the car. His eyes were wide with fear as he climbed out. Jack was busy looking at the bundles of money. Out of the corner of her eye, Dani caught one of the agents approaching to get Noah out of the area. Unfortunately, Jack looked up to see the man coming towards them.

"What the hell?" he spat, starting to reach into the back seat of the car. Dani pulled her gun and put herself between him and the vehicle.

"Jack Mariner, turn around and put your hands on the car," she ordered.

"You lying little bitch," he spat. Dani grabbed his jacket with one hand and slammed his body against the car. She cuffed him and handed him off to the agent to be read his rights. She put her gun away and bent down to look at Noah.

"Noah, sweetie I'm with the police," she said. Immediately he flung himself into her arms. Dani caught him, having to steady herself on her heels to accommodate his weight. She picked him up and held him close as she walked towards Charlie's car.

"You're going to be ok, I promise," she whispered and set him in the back of the car.

"Stay with me," his small voice called to her. Dani nodded and climbed in the back seat. Dave and Rhonda just stood there in their vests, guns drawn as Jack walked by. Charlie climbed into the driver seat and they headed back to the station. The entire drive back to the station Noah clutched the bear and rested his head on Dani's shoulder. The car came to a halt in the parking lot and Dani ushered the boy out. The rest of the officers involved had also arrived and were leading Jack into an interrogation room. Dani caught Rhonda's eye.

"Why don't you sit down here and I'll be right back," Dani said, leading Noah to her desk. Noah watched her walk away and clung to his bear tighter.

"Are you going to call his parents?" Dani asked.

"He really likes you," Rhonda blurted.

"I saved him from a predator," Dani said.

"We called his parents on the way back. They're on their way now," Rhonda added. Dani took a breath and headed back to her desk. Charlie had offered Noah an apple and was cutting it up for him.

"Noah…your Mom and Dad are on their way right now, ok," she told him. Noah nodded and took a bite of apple. Charlie smiled down at the boy and handed him another piece.

"You two, get in there before he lawyer's up," Karen ordered. Charlie finished slicing the apple and left the pieces on a paper towel on Dani's desk. Rhonda walked towards them as Noah reached out for Dani's hand.

"This is my friend Rhonda. She's going to stay with you until your parents get here," Dani said, squeezing his hand.

"But..I want you to stay," Noah protested. Dani gave him a smile.

"I will be back. But right now, my partner and I have to go talk to the man who kidnapped you," she said. He seemed to accept that answer and turned back to the snack at hand. With that, Dani and Charlie headed into the interrogation room.


	7. Through the Wringer

Through the Wringer

Charlie closed the door and let Dani sit down across from Jack. Dani stared the perp for a minute before speaking.

"You're in a lot of trouble here, Jack," she began.

"I don't want to talk to you," he muttered. Charlie licked his lips and sat down in the chair next to Dani.

"Then how about you talk to me," Charlie offered. Jack nodded and turned his attention to Charlie.

"Why'd you do it?" Charlie asked. Jack was about to open his mouth when Charlie cut him off. He wasn't in the mood to play 'guess the police division' today.

"We're not here about the boy. We want to know about Frances Vaughn," Charlie added. Jack shut his mouth for a minute. He seemed to be weighing his options in his mind. He slowly nodded his head.

"I want to make a deal," he blurted.

"We're not making any deals until you tell us what happened," Dani informed him.

"Are you sure you want to talk to us without your lawyer present?" Charlie asked. Dani glared at him.

"I don't got nothing to hide," Jack spat.

"I killed that guy, so what," he added after a minute or two.

"Why, Jack? Did you think he was going to spill your secret?" Charlie asked.

"No. The bastard ripped me off. Said he'd pay three hundred thousand and he only gave me one thousand," Jack said, sounding annoyed.

"Did you ask for payment in full?" Dani pressed.

"Of course I did," Jack snapped.

"So…you figure you have to shut him up," Dani began to try and reconstruct what happened.

"You take the crowbar from your car and you beat him with it to make sure he doesn't talk," she continued.

"And then you figure that he's still conscious so you stab him to make sure he never tells a soul what you were trying to do," Dani concluded.

"That how it went down, Jack?" she shot, leaning in close.

"Get out of my face," he hissed.

"Is that what happened, Jack?" Charlie asked. Jack nodded.

"Yeah…" he muttered.

"Just…one more question. Where's the knife," Charlie pressed.

"In the glove compartment of my car," he said. Dani pushed a pad of legal paper and a pen towards him.

"Write it down," she ordered, walking out of the room. Charlie didn't follow. He sat and watched as Jack wrote down his confession. Outside, Dani saw Noah reuniting with his parents. The boy caught sight of her and waved her over.

"Thank you so much for finding him," his mother said.

"The man who did this is never going to hurt your son or another child again. He's going away for the rest of his life," Dani said, bending down to Noah's level. He gave her a smile and a a hug. Dani stood and looked at Rhonda.

"We've been talking to Noah. We're going to get him into some counseling," Rhonda said softly.

"He's writing out his statement for us. Once he's done, you can have him," Dani said back.

"Thanks," Rhonda said and Dani began to walk away.

"Hey Reese," she called. Dani looked over her shoulder.

"Thanks for the help," Rhonda said.

"Next time, follow procedure and you won't need it," Dani replied. Rhonda nodded and saw Charlie walk out of the interrogation room. She caught her partner's eye and they headed in.

"Ready for this?" Dave asked. They took the seats that Charlie and Dani had vacated.

"Let me guess, you're the sex police," Jack said coolly.

"Yeah…we are, Jack. And let me tell you something, you're never going to hurt a little child again. With that murder wrap alone you're never going to see the outside of a prison cell again," Rhonda said coldly.

"And you know what else, Jack. Inmates don't like sex offenders," Dave added.

"I'm not afraid of you," Jack replied.

"You should be," Rhonda spat.

"Why'd you do it? Just couldn't keep your hands off little boys?" Dave asked.

"My users were getting tired of the same kids all the time. I had to give them something new," Jack replied.

"So you kidnap Noah. He's a fresh face," Rhonda continued.

"Yeah," Jack affirmed.

"So why sell him? Did he bore you that fast?" she pressed.

"Hardly, detective. My users expressed and interest and so I gave them what they wanted," he replied.

"Now…I want a deal," he demanded.

"We don't deal with creeps like you," Rhonda said and stood up.

"You have to want something, detective," Jack taunted.

"I have that little boy back safe. That's all I care about," Rhonda replied and pulled the door open. Dave followed her and two uniformed officers took their places in the room.

"What about the rest of his users on his website," Dave hissed in her ear.

"We can get a subpoena for the ISP addresses," Rhonda answered.

"I want this bastard to suffer, Dave," Rhonda told her partner.

"I know you do," he sighed.

"So he confessed?" Charlie asked.

"Yeah. WE got him on both charges. We'll have his website shut down by tomorrow morning and a list of all his subscribers," she said, reaching for her coat.

"Where you heading?" Dani called.

"Back to our precinct to start working on the paperwork. We're going to have to call the DA and get him arraigned tomorrow," she answered.

"Call us when you have a time. We'll be there," she said.

"Thanks again for everything," Rhonda murmured and she and Dave headed out. The lead federal agent closed the distance between Karen's office and Dani's desk.

"We're going to leave this in your court," he said.

"If you're sure," Dani said. He nodded and headed to round up his agents. Just then the two officers that had been guarding Jack led him out and in the direction of a holding cell.

"I hope he gets to speak with his lawyer," Charlie said.

"Crews, I don't think he has one," Dani answered.

"Hey come on…let's go get something to eat," Charlie offered. Dani let out a sigh but picked up her jacket and followed him out of the station.


	8. Coming Clean

Coming Clean

Charlie and Dani ended up at a small diner not far from her house. For a while they just sat and ate. Both were glad that the case was solved and Noah had been safely returned to his parents. Charlie was contemplating his fruit bowl while Dani stared at her half empty coffee cup. Finally, Charlie got the nerve up to speak.

"Hey Reese," Charlie began. Dani looked up from her coffee.

"Yeah?" she replied.

"A couple days ago, you said you had questions for me," he said.

"You offering answers?" she asked. He nodded.

"Hollis….he killed the Sebolts," Charlie said.

"I figured that," she sighed.

"He was hired to do it…" he trailed off. Did he really want to tell her that her own father had hired Hollis to launder money and kill someone?

"So who set you up then?" Dani asked. Charlie stabbed a piece of cantaloupe with his fork and took a bite. He took his time chewing, truly contemplating what answer to give. He wasn't entirely sure that Jack Reese had set him up. But he knew he was involved and had been from the very beginning.

"Crews," Dani called, pulling back from his thoughts.

"I don't know who set me up…but I do know who hired Hollis," he answered.

"Ok. So…who?" Dani pressed.

"You're really not going to like the answer," Charlie said.

"I can take it," she told him. Charlie licked his lips.

"Your father," he said.

"My father…my father hired a man to kill a man and his wife and son?" Dani asked incredulously.

"Yes," Charlie answered shortly, taking another bite of melon.

"That's not all, Reese. He was involved in the Bank of LA shootout," Charlie continued.

"I know…he was with the SWAT team that took down the robbers," Dani said quickly.

"No Dani…that was set up too…didn't you ever wonder where that money went?" Charlie replied. Dani ran a hand over her face. This was insane. Her father had been in on setting up Crews…at least to some extent. And he'd had a hand in the Bank of LA shootout too?

"I never really thought about it," Dani finally muttered.

"Four months after the shootout, an anonymous donation was made in the amount of the money stolen…to the same charity your father donated to every year," Charlie told her.

"This…this is..I knew he could be a hard ass but this…I never thought…" she rambled, not making too much sense.

"We don't like to see the weaknesses in the people close to us," Charlie told her. Despite how confused she was, Dani couldn't stop herself from smiling at his Zen moment. It held some truth in it. She would never have believed her father capable of something like this before she met Charlie.

"So what are you going to do? I mean…are you going after him?" Dani pressed, having to take another gulp of coffee.

"Connie told me to let someone else handle it," Charlie said.

"You can't let this go. Not until you have all the answers," Dani said.

"He told me not to involve you," he added.

"I'm a big girl. I can get involved in whatever I want," she said with a smirk.

Your dad didn't set me up but I know he knows who did…and why. Plus, he knows wher Rachel is," Charlie began to rabmle.

"Rachel?" Dani asked. She waited for Charlie to finish chewing before answering.

"The little girl. I…I was holding her in my arms…somehow…somehow Hollis managed to adopt her," Charlie explained.

"How ironic. Being raised by the man who murdered her family," Dani said.

"She was so young…" Charlie sighed.

"I'll help you…find out what happened," Dani said.

"You don't have to Reese. It's going to get messy," Charlie protested. Secretly, he didn't mind if she wanted to help. It gave him a stronger case against her father.

"I'm fine with mess, Crews. And don't think I'm scared of my father. He was not a nice man when I was little. Some of this makes sense…explains things when I was growing up," Dani said.

"Thanks, Reese. I appreciate it," Charlie said. He meant it too. He knew that he could trust her with all of this. She'd helped him collar Hollis without asking for an explanation. He'd needed her and she had been there for him, plain and simple. That is what a good partner did. He knew he could count on her when he needed her most.

They fell silent again. Dani downed the rest of her coffee and Charlie finished his fruit. He tossed the garbage in the trash beside them before pulling on his jacket. Dani stood and put on her jacket as well. They didn't speak again until they were outside the diner heading for the car.

"Thanks," Dani said as they climbed into the vehicle. Charlie looked over her as she pulled the passenger side door closed.

"For what?" he asked. She shrugged her shoulders and put on her seatbelt.

"For being you…taking the lead in the interrogation today," she muttered.

"And…for coming clean about your case. I know it couldn't have been easy for you to tell me," she added. Charlie just gave her that trademark little smirk of his. She shoved the keys into the ignition and started the car.

"You know…it wasn't that difficult. It was a lot harder not pushing your dad off the top of the building when you arrested Hollis," Charlie said, his tone completely serious.

"Don't joke like that," Dani said.

"I wasn't," Charlie assured her. She just shook her head.

"So…what do we start with?" Dani asked as they drove along.

"Start with for what?" Charlie asked, his gaze having drifted off to the passing scenery.

"The case…finding out who set you up," Dani answered. Charlie looked over at her.

"Tomorrow…we start tomorrow," he said. Dani nodded her head a couple of times as she pulled up to a stop sign.

"Ok then…bright and early," she agreed and pressed down on the accelerator.

-Fin-


End file.
